1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to a locking assembly for semiautomatic pistols or automatic machine pistols and, more particularly, to a locking assembly which allows the user to safely carry a pistol, yet provides for drawing the pistol and readying the pistol to fire with only the action of the user's shooting hand.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
The most significant problem with existing military, law enforcement and civilian holsters is security of the weapon while being carried and safety in the deployment of the weapon from the holster. As a fully automatic or semiautomatic pistol is incapable of firing without a cartridge in battery within the pistol's chamber, a dilemma is created with the use of any conventional holster. The armed person must decide whether to carry the weapon without a cartridge chambered in battery; in which case the person must, after withdrawing the pistol from the holster, use two hands to hold the pistol and action the slide to chamber a cartridge into battery. In a fast action situation, this maneuver can prove extremely dangerous for the shooter and others nearby and may cost critical time when faced with the threat of immediate forceful action. For example, it is estimated that an average assailant can cover a distance of 21 feet in 1.5 seconds or less-faster than most officers or civilians can react, draw and fire their first shot. Greenberg, "The Tactical Edge" Combat Handguns, June 1995, p 86.
In the case of a single action semiautomatic pistol of the Colt 45 caliber and the 9 mm Browning Hi-Power types, the most prevalent models worldwide, both methods of carry, i.e., with or without a chambered cartridge, are extremely dangerous and prone to a myriad of problems. First, when carried with a cartridge chambered in battery, the hammer is cocked to the utmost rearward position. With a touch of the trigger the hammer will fall, striking the firing pin and discharging the firearm. This is by far the most dangerous carry method. Some personnel chamber a cartridge, engage the hammer safety, thereby restricting the fall of the hammer until the safety is manually disengaged, and place the pistol within the holster. Others chamber a cartridge, leave the safety off and rely on the conventional holster's restraining strap to keep the hammer from falling. This is equally dangerous. The users of the two chambered methods of carry subscribe to a personal philosophy that it is better to have a cartridge within the chamber rather than be required to use the other hand to action the slide to chamber a round. Both methods of carry with a cartridge chambered, whether with the safety or holster strap on or off, are compromised by the dangerous reality that a weapon so carried can easily be involuntarily discharged, often with a tragic outcome.
Military, law enforcement and civilian records are replete with accidents caused by the chambered cartridge carry method. Some personnel have forgotten that a cartridge was chambered and, upon withdrawing the pistol from the holster and removing the magazine from the pistol for cleaning or storage, have inadvertently discharged the chambered round. Others have accidentally dropped the weapon before unloading it, causing the hammer to strike the firing pin and resulting in unintentional injury or death. Other injuries and deaths have been caused by a scuffle between the wearer and an assailant whereby the weapon has fired in the attempt of the assailant to take the weapon out of the holster; and worse, when the assailant has successfully taken the weapon from the wearer and purposely used it against his victim and/or others. In 1986, there were 51 law enforcement officers killed by handguns. Twenty-nine percent (29%) of those deaths occurred with the officer's own handgun. Howe, "Officer Slain with Own Gun" Combat Handguns, June 1995, p 24. To date, very few inventors have come forth with even a reasonably practical solution to this problem. Id.
Many who select the chambered cartridge option believe that perhaps in some forceful circumstance their other hand may be otherwise engaged, as in fending off an assailant, driving, climbing, using a flashlight, etc., or their other hand may be injured, thereby making it physically impossible to chamber a cartridge by actioning the slide. They maintain that although their carry method is inherently dangerous, their weapon is accessible for use with one hand, after they have either released the manual safety or removed the holster strap, or both.
In both single or double action pistols, a cartridge may be pre-chambered and in battery and subject to being fired upon simply pulling the trigger. Consequently, the only other option of carrying a single or double action semiautomatic pistol is to carry it in the conventional holster with no cartridge chambered in battery. Although appearing to be a safer method, it also presents many dangerous possibilities. As both hands are required to chamber a round after the pistol is withdrawn from the conventional holster, the weapon cannot be used at all when one cannot use two hands. Additionally, personnel have inadvertently depressed the magazine release button which on some models is in a direct lateral path of the slide, while actioning the slide with their other hand, only to find their weapon has been rendered useless as the ammunition magazine has dropped out of the weapon. Finally, the only way to assure no round is chambered in semiautomatic or automatic pistols is to forcibly rack the pistol's slide to its most rearward position and visually or manually examine the firing chamber. This is often difficult or overlooked in low light or fast action situations. Extractor and ejector mechanisms on pistols have been known to malfunction due to wear, material fatigue or improper maintenance, giving weapon owners a false sense of security when the pistol slide is racked rearward and no cartridge is ejected. A holster which could obviate the need for visual or manual inspection would be advantageous.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,804,306 to Azurin discloses a conventional automatic pistol holster. The Azurin patent does not teach or suggest the features or advantages of the present invention. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,577,869 to Adams and 2,893,615 to Couper, each directed to a holster for revolvers, likewise do not teach or suggest the present invention.
The object of the present invention is to allow military, law enforcement and authorized civilian personnel to carry a pistol with maximum safety to themselves and others with no cartridge capable of being in battery within the chamber. It is a further object to provide a locking assembly for a holster wherein a cartridge can be immediately chambered and the pistol withdrawn from the locking assembly using only one hand.
It is a still further object to provide a locking assembly having positive safety mechanisms which not only lock the weapon securely within the assembly but also uniquely prohibit a weapon which contains a cartridge in battery within the firing chamber to be placed inadvertently within the assembly.
Still further, it is an object of the present invention to provide a pistol which, when placed in the locking assembly, has an inoperable trigger and cannot be withdrawn from the assembly with the usual motion required in conventional holsters.